


Potions and Meadows~

by madllamamomma



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Adult Content, Cute, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Romance, Smut, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:48:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23886214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madllamamomma/pseuds/madllamamomma
Summary: [Three and a half months after being a Lightweight~ & three weeks before you ate the Pumpkin Bread~  OwO’ ]Below is NSFW, lots of profanity and whatnot. You’ve been warned.
Relationships: Apprentice/Muriel (The Arcana), Asra/Julian Devorak, Muriel (The Arcana)/Original Character(s), Muriel (The Arcana)/Reader, Muriel (The Arcana)/You
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

Asra and Julian just got back from sea, you were so happy when you saw them you nearly knocked them both down at the docks, hugging them tightly. Muriel even aloud Julian to give him a quick hug, as he tried to hide the hint of smile on his face. He will never admit it, but he missed the doctor too. 

Asra got you an interesting old (rather heavy) book, called, _Magic of The Ancients_. He got Muriel a very nice, yet simple, leather satchel. Julian got you a beautiful pair of peach colored pearl earrings, saying, “I just knew that they’d go perfectly with your complexion, Rhemi!”... But you didn’t see him give anything for Muriel (not that he really cared anyways).

Muriel had been staying every night together, switching from his hut to the shop during their months at sea. Despite missing Asra and Julian deeply, you never once felt lonely. Muriel even helped out in the shop some days (he attracted a lot of single peoples, unsurprisingly, he is rather handsome after all!). The two were only gone for three and a half months, even though the months felt like forever, it was much shorter than anticipated. Apparently their ship got into some trouble with pirates, and the ship was badly damaged. After Asra and Juilan visited Portia and the Countess, giving them their gifts, the four of you sat down around the table in the back. Muriel and you cooked some dinner and all four of you conversed about their adventures, catching up with each other; Sipping on a blend of jasmine and rooibos tea. Asra melts a little when he drinks his cup, he always loved how you brewed the tea, it’s honestly one of his weaknesses.

Asra and Julian never looked so happy before, you even see them sneakily holding hands and rubbing their knees together under the table when you gave them their cups. It was so sweet.

While they were gone, you have been quite busy trying to further yourself as a magician. You’ve been trying to make a potion called Dragon’s breath. It has many benefits and uses, mostly being a non combustible heating property, (once it was completely finished) and it was worth a pretty penny if made correctly. Asra made it a few times before and had many notes about it. You started to study them before he left and attempted to make it about five or six times, never getting very far at all. It's rather difficult to make, the process takes an entire month. This time you’ve got the ingredients perfectly balanced, and the potion finally formed into a deep purple—the very last stages. You’ve only got to this stage once, but it burned out before it was completed. You proudly bring it up at the table when you were all catching up and talking. Asra was very impressed with you! He knew more than anyone how much you wanted to make it. But, he also was a little wary about it. It's a very difficult brew—eligibility, he has troubles with it too. But you feel confident this time. Failure is not an option! It’s nearly done anyways.

A week comes and goes, the night before Muriel went back alone to the hut for the night. You would have came with him, but the potion was nearly in the critical, unstable stages where it needed constant attention, slowly adding salt and soot. If it bubbles over, you’re in trouble. If it’s blue and looks like slime, you’ve wasted your time. If it's golden, it’s treasure your holdin’! (Asra came up with that corny, ridiculous rhyme and you can’t get it out of your head). Basically, too much salt can make it bubble up, turning it red, hot and explode. Too much soot can make it smolder and turn it thick, cold, and blue. Either one will ruin it. The potion is completed once the color turns from a plummy-purple, to a rich yellowish-golden color, warm to the touch, but not scalding hot.

—————————————————————————————————

Today, Julian went back to his clinic, and Muriel went to patrol the wood for the morning. Asra found you that morning already working on the dragon’s breath at the table in the back room. He was kind enough to take care of the customers and tend to the rest of the shop today, letting you focus on the potion. If you get passed today, the potion will be complete. You sit there in a chair, attention solely on the potion in a medium sized glass flask. Bags under your eyes, feeling very fatigued. You’ve tightly pulled your hair up in a bun, you only do that when you’re seriously trying to focus.

It’s almost noon, Asra comes into the back where you are, kindly bringing you something to eat. He knocks on the wall, as he walks in so he doesn’t startle you. “How’s it going, Rhemi?” He lightly holds your shoulder with one hand and places some bread from your favorite baker, and some vegetable stew.

Even though you would like nothing more than to dig right now, you're too focused on the potion to even want to eat, the crumbs might accidentally get into the mix, and screw everything up. You start to answer Asra, after a small yawn creeps from your mouth, without looking away from the flask on the table. “Good...I think it’s almost done. I think it’s even starting to turn to gold.” You squint your eyes looking a little closer to the glass. “....That or my eyes are playing tricks on me…” You push the food away out of your work space, kindly declining. 

He laughs through his nose, then looks at the back of your head, noticing your hair. He chuckles, “Uh-oh!…”

“What? What’s wrong?? Is it turning blue? Or worse—RED?!” Worry and dread taking over you full force, you grab the flask pressing your nose against it. 

He laughs, and pats your shoulder comfortingly. “No, Rhemi! You're doing a really great job! ...I just noticed this,” He taps on your messy bun, making it bob a little. “..You only do that when you mean _business_!” He scoots the plate of food in front of you and taps the ceramic with his fingernail. “You do need to eat though.”

You give him a quick nod giving him a, “ _Mmmhmm.._ ”, without even glancing towards him. He huffs, not sounding at all convinced. He travels around the table, leaning over lazily on the other side, tiling his head down, catching your gaze. You inwillingly glance up from the flask, as he gives you a motheringly scolding look. “...I mean it, Rhemi! Don’t push yourself too much.”

“What?” You splutter, flicking your wrist carelessly, trying to deflect his words. “—What do you mean?” You rub your tired eyes a little.

“You do this! Once you put your mind to something, you push yourself to do it. And that’s one of the things I really admire about you,”

Your cheeks flush a little, smirking, still darting back and forth to the flask and Asra’s face, feeling rather flattered. “But, you have a tendency of pushing yourself too hard—” Before he could continue his nagging, you both heard the closed door of the shop open.

“...Rhemi?...Asra?” Your heart flutters and a huge smile takes over your face as you hear the deep voice radiating from the front of the shop—it’s Muriel~! You both haven't slept apart for three month. Three very fun months. It was a little difficult when he left you alone for the night, but you endeared.

“We're back here, Muriel!” Asra calls out, looking towards his direction, still leaning on the table, knowing he wasn’t done with his rant. While he isn’t looking, you push the plate of food to the far left of you out of the way, hoping he’d stop pestering you about eating.

Large footsteps start to get louder as he walks to the back room. In the corner of your eye, you see bubbles start to form, and you carefully sprinkle a little soot in until they disappear.

Asra looks up to Muriel welcomingly. “Good morning, my friend!” Faust sticks her head out of Asra’s vest, flicking her fork-tongue happily. _“Tall friend!!”_ They both look up towards his face, smiling, Asra still comfortably leaning on the table.

Muriel nods to Asra with a small grin, his face becomes warm and a full smile washes over him as your eyes meet, you feel your heart melt and smile back lovingly. “Good morning, my love!!” You reach your hand out for him, he takes it, gladly.

“..Morning—“ He stares at you for a moment, looks down at your clothes and messy hair. They're very wrinkled and look oddly like...the same as the ones you wore last night…. Before he left for the night. Because they were….

He blinks rapidly, his smile now pulled down into low frown in realization, pulling his hand away. “...Did… did you even go to bed last night?!?”

_Uh-oh…_ A small bead of sweat forms from your temple, your cheeks feel flushed again. “I…. _Uhhhh_...” You avert your eyes away from him back to the flask, chuckling nervously. “...Yeeeesssss?” You lie, scratching your head.

Asra whips his face back down beaming down at you, you refuse to look at either of them, your lips curled into your mouth, eyes widen looking at the flask. Now you're gonna get it.. “—RHEMI ! !” They both snap concerningly, and you start a little.

“What? I— I couldn’t just _leave it_ here....” You close your eyes and shrug defensively.

Muriel just shakes his head. “You told me before I went home that you’d get some rest! You’ve barely slept this week!”

Asra jumps in, “The dragon’s breath just started the ending process this morning! _After_ I got here! You could have slept!”, then runs his fingers through his hair frustratedly.

“Yeah… Well...I- I wanted to make sure it didn’t burn out on me...again… So I stayed up... just in case.” Together they loudly groan irritatedly. Muriel closes his eyes tightly, pitching the bridge of his nose, Asra’s hand slaps his forehead.

Your eyes dart between them, then back to your precious potion. _“Whaaaaaaaaat?!?”_ You whine, resting your chin on the table, still looking at the flask.

“Okay. Rhemi, that is _exactly_ what I was talking about!!” Asra starts to scold and folds his arm in disapproval. “You push yourself and push yourself until you have nothing left! You pass out from exhaustion, you burn out, you get discouraged--I can keep going!!”

“Alright, Mom!!” You scoff resting your head on the crease of your elbow, cushioning your face from the hard table. “I get it…”

“...At least let me help you this time—” Asra shakes his hand pointing to the potion.

“—No!!!” You half shout, hastily grabbing the potion and pulling it into your sternum protectively, startling the both of them.

They just stare at you for a moment, puzzled, until Muriel breaks the silents, slumping his shoulders. “...Why?!” His brow narrows. 

_Ugh… Don’t give me that look, Muri..._

You look at both of their faces and it dawns on you. They’re both just worried about your health. You know that just care, they love you. But this is important! You’ve tried and failed so many times… This time—It's going to be different! You know it! Potion making is a skill that is taught by trial and error and is not easily acquired, and you know that. But being spoon fed everything isn’t going to help you either.

You deeply exhale, placing the flask back on the table in front of you. “Because, then… then I wouldn’t have done it.. All the effort and time I’ve put into this… it would be just wasted… This… this is my first, real, advanced potion making! —And—and I want to master it!” You rub your tired eyes again. They both glare at you blankly, irritating you. You groan in response, “ _Gah!...For the love of god_...It’s almost done anyways, guys! I can sleep _then_!” Your fingers slick back the loose little curls out of your face as you stifle a yawn again. The potion starts to turn a little too blue, and you start to add the salt in.

Muriel brow softens, exhaling deeply, almost having a pleading look on his face. “..Rhemi…” Your face twists a little as he continues, you can read him like a goddamn book. He understands your commitment, he saw you try and try again these past few months and not succeeding. He knows exactly how much you want to do this. But he still looks so frustrated. So worried. “...This...this isn’t good for you—”

“—I’m fine, Muri—Really!” You give him a grumpy look, tutting and rolling your eyes at him. “....And you're the one to talk! _You_ don’t sleep well.”

“— N-not by choice! Besides, I’ve gotten a lot better recently…” He starts to blush and lower his voice to almost a whisper, still looking grumpy too.

Asra watches you as you keep adding salt into the flask, “ _Ah_ … Rhemi—”

You dart quickly to him, “Hold on, Asra.”, then back to Muriel, continuing your argument. “—Yeah…. Well—I am a capable adult and….I can make my own decisions about my sleep...” You are very uncharacteristically irriatible, you never really argue like this with Muriel, but he’s not backing down either.

Muriel grumbles, throws his head back, and shakes it. He’s not really taking anything you say to heart. He knows you're just tired and grouchy. “Rhemi—You’re just being stubborn! You know you can’t think straight when you're tired...” He’s got you pinned there…it’s true. He does know first hand that you get a little dopey when you're sleep deprived. But nothing is going to stop you now! You’re too close to being done!

Asra leans his body laterally trying to get into your view, pointing to the flask. “ _UHH_ , Rhemi! Watch your—” He tries to interject again, his voice more firm.

“Asra, _SHUSH!_ —“ You hiss at him, he shudders at your sudden snappiness. Faust slithers back into his vest. “—I can think perfectly straight, mister…chicken lovin’...forest...man, YOU!” You stick your tongue out like you‘re a ten-year-old.

Muriel tries his best to not to laugh at you. That was the worst insult ever. “... _‘Chicken lovin’, forest man’_?” He mumbles, trying to hide a smirk, an eyebrow raises. “..If you think you can—”

_“Danger!!!”_ Faust’s nose peeps out of Asra’s vest and he suddenly inhales sharply, screaming, “—RHEMI !!!!” Eyes are huge.

You stop adding the salt, slamming your hand onto the table, with a _thump._ “Yes, Asra?? WHAT?!” You glare back at him, but then see bubbles overflowing in the flask and you gasp. The glass is starting to rattle a little, the color of the potion is red, fizzing, burning hot. Everyone’s eyes are incredibly wide.

“—The soot! THE SOOT!!!” Asra yells.

“OH, SHIT!!!” Panicked, you grab a hand full of the soot and throw it in trying to counter it, but it’s not working...The flask starts to jerk violently on the table, the glass starts to make scary TINK TINK TINK noises as the cracks start to spider out. “NO NO NO NO NO NO!! NOT, AGAIN!!!”

“—Rhemi!! GET AWAY FROM IT!!” Muriel shouts.

You ignore him still trying to throw soot into it. “I-I-I-I CAN’T FAIL AGAIN! I can fix this!!” Small sparks start to pop out of the mouth of the flask—a large arm suddenly rips you out of your chair.

_BOOOOOM! CRACK! THUD! HISSSSSS....._

The next thing you know, you’re smashed together against Asra inside Muriel’s chest on the floor. Protecting you both as the potion explodes, his back shielding the two of you. You can hear the hissing of the small explosion. “.... the both of you alright?!” Muriel looks down then back around the room making sure nothing was on fire. Still not letting go of either of you. Asra looks at you, shock still on his face.

Asra clenches his chest Faust peers out of his vest, _“Safe!”_. He swallows, relaxing a little and muttering, “Yes...we’re ok.” Slowly he collects his composure. “How about you?”

Muriel quickly inspects himself, “...I’m fine…”

Asra wipes the sweat off of his cheek, “... that was a little close…”

“—What...what happened?!” You mutter, not exactly comprehending. “...The dragon’s breath?” Muriel turns his head back towards the table, his eyes widen as he sees at the table, then quickly darts away, just staring at the ground, his lips tightly pressed together, not saying a word. His face starts to get a little white. The three of you stay tucked away in Muriel’s strong hold, silent. You look blankly at Muriel’s arm. _What the fuck just happened. What you think just happened… did NOT just happen. This is a dream. You’re just asleep. Yeah— that’s it! The dragon’s breath is still on the table. Waiting for you._ You gently push away Muriel’s arm, and he reluctantly lets you and Asra go, a deep frown on his face. You turn yourself around, still sitting on the floor, and look up at the table. It’s still standing, but there is a huge scort mark where the flask once was, still simmering a little. Glass and small burns litter the floor. The tablecloth is almost completely gone, the curtains badly singed. Nothing else is luckily not actively on fire, but still. This is not good. You sit on the floor on your hands and knees, just staring. You pick up a small shard of glass on the floor, the last remaining part of your potion. You feel your bottom lip starts to quiver. Everything just sinks in.

Asra and Muriel very slowly stand up, behind you. You could hear a pin drop, it’s so quiet. It stays like this for nearly a minute, then you can hear Asra’s lips part to say something. “Rhe—”

“—It’s fine…” You snap, now sitting on your knees, still staring at what's left of your precious position, now your eyebrow twitches slightly. You huff a sharp weird laugh, aggressively scratching your scalp.“...This is just fine…” You stand to your feet, hands slightly shaking. You pull your notebook out of your pocket. Irrationally starting to rip out the pages of the notes about the dragon’s breath potion, then casually throw them into the air with a small crazed giggle. Turning around to Muriel and Asra, looking directly past them towards the far wall, smiling insanely.. “— _I’m_ fine.” You say with a forced cackle, your mouth quivers a little.

Asra’s one hand on his hip, and rubs the back of his head with the other, trying to search for words. “..I’m—”

You stick your hand up stopping him, shaking your head. “—Don’t!… Just… not a word... please...” Still having a creepy fake smile, but your brow starts to narrow a bit, and your eyes travel down to the floor. Feeling like you’re about to pull all your hair out, on the verge of losing your shit.

Muriel even tries to open his mouth wanting to say something, you quickly shake your finger at him, and nostrils flared. “— _Mmmm!_ —Nope!...Not. A. Word…..Please!..” He and Asra exchange concerned looks, and a little bit of fear washes over their faces. You look fucking insane right now. You feel fuck insane! _One month. Four weeks. A whole FUCKING month of work, just wasted! Ruined in two seconds! KABOOM!!!! Just—Fucking gone!_

Muriel has no idea what to do or say, but he looks like he feels awful, he just stands there, looking at the floor, sheepishly rubbing his opposite upper arm with his hand. Asra clears his throat awkwardly, looking up at the ceiling. You just try to focus on breathing, trying to calm yourself, you feel you could cry… or scream...or break something...or someone.

The front door opens breaking the silence, “Asra, my sweet~ Care to join me for—” Julian comes walking jollily into the back room, then pauses mid step, his eye scanning the back of the shop, digesting the dramatic scene. Muriel and Asra eyeing him warily. “....some ….lunch?” None of you move for a moment. Your eyebrow twitches again, your mouth now in a neutral position. _Don’t you say a goddamn word, Devorak. Don’t. Say. A. Fucking. WORD. Or Imma lose it._ You feel so unpredictable right now.

“Wooh! What's going on here?” Julain’s hands on his hips, staring at the scorched table. Asra and Muriel hasility, but silently shake their heads and hands, sweat on your foreheads, trying to get Julian to shut the hell up, but he still just continues talking. Pissing you off. You don’t even look at him, but the hairs on the back of your neck raise, your shoulders start hike-up and your hands tighten into fists at your sides. Your blood is boiling by the time Julian turns his gaze to you, and locks onto his eye, starting to walk towards you, looking like he wants to comfort you. “...Rhemi, what, _er,_ what happened to your po- _TION_?!” His voice cracks up an octave as you chuck the remnants of the notebook straight at his face, gritting your teeth, he just barely dodges it. _He said it!… He fucking said it!!!! Do you wanna fucking die today, Doctor?!?_

Muriel and Asra jump. Then Asra quickly stifles a laugh, trying his best to stay serious. “N-...Not your best timing, Ilyan.” Julian’s arms fly up in front of him defensively, taking a step backwards, first looking cautiously at you like a prey being cornered by a predator. Then he cracks his famous charming smirk, trying to ease the tension, badly, a small bead of sweat forms on his forehead near his eyepatch. “—Wooh-ho! Hey now!...No need to be… _testy_ , Rhemi~ _—WOOH_!!!” The smirk falls away, he ducks down quickly as you chuck your very sharp pencil at him like a dart, sticking into the wall. He stands back up, but still covers his head, starting to look horrified. “D-D-Did I ever tell you... _err._..how ... _errr._.” He swallows and fumbles for words. “ _B-B-Beautiful_ , you look when, uh, you're angry, Rhemi-Dear? _AHHH!_ ” He cries out and you completely lose it— _I HATE WHEN HE CALLS ME ‘RHEMI DEAR’!!!!! I am not a PET!!!_ You lunge forward, growling and snarling, baring your teeth like some rabid animal; Starting to stagger as you peel off your shoe, planning to aim it at the poor defenseless doctor’s mug. He just unfairly became the target of your wrath. Muriel quickly wraps his arms around you, as your arm tears back. You drop your shoes and he holds your arms down before your it could go flying, your feet dangling off of the floor. You wriggle angrily in his arms trying to break free. “RWAAAR!! Lemme at him! I’LL RIP YOUR FACE OFF, JULIAN!!”

Julian pleads, “Oh god not again! —What have I even done to endure your wrath _this time_ , woman?!?”

“YOU... FUCKING... SAID…. SOMETHING!!!!” You scream hatefully, still trying to get wiggle yourself free out of Muriel’s arms.

“—I’m sooorrrrrry!!” Julian bolts out the door fearing for his life, screaming down the street back to his clinic. “Asra, get out while you still can!! _OUT OF THE WAY! Angry magical apprentice—Excuse me! Pardon me!! MAKE WAY_!!”

Asra sticks his head out the shop door, “Julian, run!” And he snickers, angry Rhemi was a little scary, but mostly funny to him (as long as he wasn’t the one under fire). Once Julian was out of your sight, you stop fighting, your face is a bit red with embarrassment, but mostly anger. Asra tries to hide his smile with his hand pretending to cough as he makes his way back to you and Muriel, who is still holding you back. You start to accept his embrace, it is making you calm down a bit. He finally sets your feet back to the floor. Asra looks up at Muriel, “I’m gonna go take care of _that_.” Gesturing towards Juliana path. He’s attention back to you, pity washes over his face. You probably look super pathetic right now… you sure as hell feel like it.

“Don’t worry about the mess, I’ll take care of it.” Your face starts to cool off, looking down to the floor, reflecting on your actions. You kinda feel bad about taking everything out on poor Ilyan...kinda. But if he was smart and kept his mouth shut—this is just so infuriating.

Asra sighs, and pats Muriel on the shoulder, “Make sure she takes the rest of the day off…” he takes another look at the bags underneath your eyes. “...Actually, make it three days—You two go off and have some fun. Take it easy, okay?.” Your hands reach up and hold Muriel’s arms lightly, he loosen his hold, it's more like a tight hug now. Even though you hate life currently, it feels good to be in his warm arms. You bury your face in them. Asra places his hand on your shoulder, squeezing it slightly. “Rhemi…Please don’t be so sad. You’ll get it next time!...Promise you’ll get some rest and relax for the next few days. Please?” You stay silent. “...If not for me than for Muriel?” You can feel Muriel leaning his head down a little getting closer to you. You finally sigh and nod slowly, still refusing to speak or look at either of them. “Good. I’ll see you both later, alright?” Asra starts to giggle a little. “...I know it’s fun, but no more throwing things at Julian today, ok?” You blindly wave at him with one hand then immediately return it to Muriel’s arm. You hear Asra’s footsteps dampen as he walks out the door and you listen to it until you can’t hear them anymore.

You exhale an incredibly defeated sounding moan. So many emotions came and left all at once. All you feel now is numb and tired. You nuzzle your face into your sweet hermit’s large forearms. Feeling like you could just hide under his cloak forever. It feels a lot better just being in his warm embrace. “...You alright?” Muriel finally asks.

You breath in sharply, trying to push out all the bad feelings you harbor currently. You muster up a grin, a fake one, a convincing fake one, and soften your face. You look up at his cute face. “Yeah… I am…”

He blushes looking sheepish again glancing towards the scorched table. “This….It’s… it’s my fault.”

“What? No, it’s not!” You tighten your grasp on his arm. “Why do you think that?”

He mumbles looking ashamed, “I-I ...distracted you.”

“No, Muriel. I was the one not paying any attention. You were right...” You turn your body, snuggling your cheek into his chest, wrapping your arms around him feeling his back muscles “...I can’t think straight when I’m tired...I also get really bitchy apparently. I’m sorry for being mean….. I’m really ashamed of how I acted…”

He chuckles a little, you can feel the heat on his chest. “...You're not that bad… I know you didn’t mean any of it…you're just tired.”

“I am. So. So. fucking tired.” You voice muffled his chest, then you both unravel your limbs from each other. He cups your face and leans down, kissing your forehead sweetly. Despite feeling like utter shit, his love and affection melts your heart.

He turns and starts to go up to your room upstairs, you tug his arm, stopping him. He looks down a little confused. You look up at him pathetically. “Can… Can we go to your hut?....A nap in the forest cuddling up with Inanna sounds nice. ” But really, you just don’t want to be here right now. He grins warmly and nods. Hand in hand you both head out the door and leave the shop, locking the door behind you. 

The walk to Muriel’s hut was rather quiet. You told him that you're alright, and you want to be ok. But your not ok. This sucks. You work literally just blew up in your face, again. It’s frustrating. Maybe some sleep and tea should help, at least a little.

By the time you get there, it’s mid afternoon. Inanna greets Muriel and you outside of his hut, her tail wagging and howls happily. “Hi, Nana.” She whimpers a little, she can see right through your fake smile. You scratch behind her ears, and Muriel shuffles into the hut, Inanna and you follow in after. You collapse on the edge of the bed and have a strange feeling of deja vu. You sit up and take off your corset belt, and your shoes, wrapping yourself in the blanket and lay your head down. 

Muriel kneels down and brushes his fingers against your cheek. “...You sure you're ok?”

You nod, and cover your yawn, “...Just tired.” You wrap your hand around his neck leaning him towards your lips. “I’m fine.” You smile, feeling like a fraud, kissing him. 

He doesn’t pull away just yet, he keeps looking at you. “...Ya’ know.” Muriel looks down at the blanks you're wrapped up in, looking serious. “...It’s alright if your not… if you're _not_ okay..”

You look at him a little baffled, but he can see right through you. You let his neck go, the fake smile evaporates and you take a moment to ponder his words. You sit up, tucking your knees into your chest, pressing you back into the wall, exhaling deeply through your nostrils, avoiding his eyes. You don't want to burden him, you're not ready to admit that you feel defeated. He leans down and kisses your forehead, blushing, mumbling, “...You can talk to me...you know.” Inanna hops up into the bed and curls herself around you.

“I’m...I’m fine…” You shrug.

“No… you're not.” Muriel’s fingers trace your jaw line.

You keep looking down fidgeting with the covers, finally answering him. “I...I don’t wanna talk about it...I’m sorry.”

He holds your hand, squeezing it, “I can understand that…I’m here when you do. Get some rest for now.” He turns to stand up from the bed so you could get to sleep. You grab a hold of his wrist, quickly tugging him back. He turns his head back, looking a little concerned. “....Yeah?”

“Can you stay for a minute? Until I fall asleep?” Your stomach starts to hurt with that request, you let go of his hand. “...Ugh...I’m sorry, love..I’m being needy…you don’t have to.”

He grins softly at you, scooting Inanna over. “You’re fine.” Somehow all three of you fit all together on the small bed, all curled up tightly.

You try to shut your eyes and fall asleep, thinking it would be easy to drift off. But you can’t get your brain to stop. The explosion in the shop keeps replaying in your head, then your other previous failures come to mind. It’s so irritating. After about fifteen or twenty minutes, you utter quietly, “..Muriel..are you awake?”

He starts a little, breathing in deeply, “...Ye—Yeah..” clearly lying.

You curl up tighter in a little ball, “....Ten times….”

“..Huh?” He opens his eyes, looking a little confused. “...Oh! You mean the dragon’s …beard?”

You chuckle a little,“Dragon’s _breath_..”

He clears his throat. “...I-I meant that…”

You grab his hand and intertwine your fingers together. “...This makes it eleven times now.”

You sit back up your head against the wall again, sighing frustratedly. Muriel sits up along with you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest.

“It’s....just…” You flounder for words. “...I never got that far before...This is the second time I ever made it to the final stages. Asra….he makes it look so easy! It’s-it’s just...frustrating…You know?” You blow a piece of hair out of your face that tickles your nose and start to pet Inanna’s soft thick fur.

He leans in and kisses your lips lightly, holding your face gently, stroking it lightly with his thumb. “Asra makes everything look easy”, he snorts. “Just because you can’t make some… fire….potion, doesn’t make you a bad magician—“ His face starts to heat up suddenly, he looks like he wants to say something, but can’t get it out.

You take pity on him, “Well, now...I know I’m tired, but I can’t sleep.” You groan, feeling stupid. “....Just....Too many thoughts swirling in my head.”

He removes his back from the wall, making a thoughtful sound as he looks out the window. You can see an idea spark in his mind. “...Are you up for a walk?...It‘s a little far though.”

You shrug, “Sure, why not. Where to?” You stretch your arms a bit, detangling yourself from the blankets and start to put your belt back on.

Muriel’s blush spreads to his ears, rubbing his neck. “Its… _.uhhh_ … well...It... It may be easier to just _show_ you.”

You tilt your head slightly perplexed. “Oh, ok.”

He gets off of the bed, putting his cloak back on. “....Take the blanket with you.”

“Huh?”

**To be continued~**


	2. Potions & Meadows~ Pat2

Muriel leads you into the forest, tightly holding your hand. Inanna trots ahead, she seems to know exactly where you all are headed. _‘A walk’ was definitely an understatement._ You’ve never been this deep in the forest before. The tree roots and branches grow wildly and you have to watch your step to make sure you don’t tumble. It’s nearly sunset now, Muriel typically won't take you out here that close to dark. “Muriel, I thought you said it wasn’t safe out here at night.”

He points up into the branches, still holding your other hand. Protection charms form a small path in the trees. “I..uhhh....I used to come here a lot...When I couldn’t sleep…or when I had a bad day.” You can't see his face, but you can almost hear the blush on his cheeks from his voice.

Muriel pushes a particularly thick, heavy, branch out of the away. It reveals a small clearing—a meadow with tall grass, some wild flowers sprinkled around, and a small pond. Next to it is a decent sized weeping willow, a gentle breeze blowing it’s long tendrily branches like chimes. It’s a pretty little place, but nothing particularly special. You look up at his face, he breathes in deeply, taking in the fresh air, looking fondly at the sight. He guides you to the long grass, the moon can be seen already, it’s nearly full. Muriel takes the blanket you carried, and opens it up so you can sit on it while he sits in the tall grass. He sits contently, looking around as if he’s waiting for something, tucking his left leg up to his chest, draping his folded arms around his knee. You tilt your head, looking at him slightly confused.

Muriel keeps looking all around, his eyes look a bit excited for some reason. Your eyes meet and he sees your perplexed face. He chuckles, grinning a little widder, and nods his head toward the grass. “...Won’t be long now.” He utters. You can hear Inanna going off into the nearby trees chasing something happily. It’s now dusk, the night creatures start to surface. Crickets, owls and frogs start to sing their songs. Your eyes keep darting all around, trying to see what he wants to show you. Still nothing. You quietly sigh a little, starting to feel a little impatient, tucking your legs into your chest, starting to feel the chili of the cool night air. A small glow of greenish yellow light flashes in your peripheral. You whip your head toward it. It’s gone.

“What was—?”

Muriel smiles, opening his hand, he’s holding something, but you can’t see in the dark. He brings his hand up to his mouth and gently blows on his palm. The small light illuminates again and flies around him in the air.

“...Fireflies?” You whisper. I’ve seen them before. But there isn’t really any in the city.

Slowly the meadow comes to life, the grass, the weeping willow, the small pond. They are all illuminated with greenish yellow light. The small balls of light brighten up everything around you and Muriel. Fireflies are everywhere. Thousands of them. Your mouth drops, you can’t help but feel a flutter in your chest. You stand to your feet, taking in all the beauty and awe of this magnificent place. You walk into the long grass, more fireflies emerge every step you take. You cup your hands together, a few swirl around and land on your hand glowing brilliantly. You feel a smile, a true smile, washing over your mouth. All the events that happened today, they melt away. Pure joy only in your heart. You blow lightly making the magnificent bright bugs fly away, a giddy little noise escapes your lungs as you watch them whisk away. “Muriel! This...this is amazing!” You turn to Muriel who is still sitting in the tall grass. “How’d you find—”

Suddenly you feel breathless. Muriel is just beaming at you, his gaze is so warm, filled with wonder, a hint of longing behind them. His smile….It leaves your legs feeling so weak. Your heart skips a beat, feeling a quiver from your pelvis, almost all the way down to your bones. He finally realizes that he’s staring, and darts his eyes away from yours, red painted on his face, but still smiling a little. He stands to his feet, and walks up looking bashfully down at his feet. “...thought you’d like it here.”

You smile widely, looping your arm around his. “How’d you find this place?”

He looks around, the smile never leaving his lips. How could it? This place is gorgeous. “... Asra and I found it once when we were kids… he called it ‘fairy meadow’... never really cared for the name..”

You giggle at his scoff, “Why not? You don’t like fairies?”

“N-no… it's not that...it’s just... these are _fireflies_ , not fairies… it can be misleading.” He flushes and turns his face away.

You giggle again, and tug him along as you make your way to the blanket on the ground listening to him as he continues. “...Couldn’t find it again for a long time…” You both sit down on the blanket next to each other. “...The day Inanna and I escaped the colosseum… we came across it… slept here for a while… and I still come sometimes for the fireflies.” He holds his pointer finger as one lands on the tip of it gracefully. Neon green lights up his features, making his green eyes even brighter. 

“How come you haven’t show me this before?”

He blinks a few times before answering. “...Haven’t had to I guess.” He coughs. “...Since I meet....you.” 

You feel a leap in your chest, it’s now your turn to blush. You look up at him lovingly. You really needed this after today. You place your hand on his thigh. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

Muriel cheeks slightly flushes again, and starts to scratch his chin with his free hand. “It’s… it’s nothing really…”

“No. It’s everything, Muriel. This place it’s amazing. I think I need this.” Looking around the meadow you ponder deeply about what happened in the shop today “...You were right, I…. I wasn’t ok.”

“...I know.” The firefly whisks away from his finger and he picks a single wild primrose and fiddles with it delicatly in his large fingers.

“How did you know?” You feel a little dumbfounded with that. You could always hide things like that rather well. It came with lots of practice. When Asra used to leave the shop on his travels without you, you would feel so sad. But you’d force a smile so he wouldn’t know how you truly felt. He did so much for you and you didn’t want to be a bother. No one has really has seen through it before, or called you out on it.

He sets the flower to his side, turning all his attention to you. Cupping your face, his thumb brushes against your lips. You suddenly feel really turned on. “...Your smile.” He looks a little flush again once realizing what he’s doing, he averts his eyes and looks towards your chin, but doesn’t pull away his hand away. “..I could tell it wasn’t real...”

You lean your face into his hand. It’s strange to have someone that can read you so well, but it’s also really comforting. You can read his body language, you can pick up on even the subtlist of things. It feels so sweetly intimate, like your souls can silently converse with just a single glance. Muriel quickly looks to the tall grass clearing his throat. Trying to fight the urge to ravage you. “Also…. I’d be pretty pissed too...if I was you. You worked really hard the entire time they were away....”

The cool air starts to make you feel a little chilly, you shiver slightly. Muriel looks back to you as you shiver, suddenly wrapping his arms around you bringing you into his lap and chest. Instantly making you feel warmer, “...better now?” He blushes, but still grins.

Your smile is so wide now, it almost hurts, “Yes. I am~.” His eyes meet yours, jumps slightly when he notices your hungry gaze. Both of your cheeks are hot. You feel his heartbeat accelerate. Your stomach feels light and fluttery. Slowly, you move to sit on your knees, lifting up to be closer to him, your hand placed firmly into his pecks. He leans down, closing his eyes, meeting your lips. He tenses slightly, his hands hover over your waist. He wants more than to just hold you, he wants to touch you, love you. You pull away from his lips, the tips of your noses pressed together. He still looks nervous, just like your first time, but he’s slowly getting a lot better. He’s at least not trembling like he did. “You don’t have to ask, Muriel—” His eyes go to his hands, he tenderly wraps them around your corset belt. Tenderly squeezing his thumbs into the tops of your hip bones. “...You can always touch me.”

“...Sorry...This… it’s...just still new…” He whispers looking bashful. You run your hand through his thick black hair and cup his scarred cheek, licking your bottom lip. He trembles slightly, but you can tell, he enjoys it. You press a quick peck on his lips and he returns one. Both your eyes clenched shut, mouths then locked together. Kissing intensifies the passion with each passing second, loving the feeling of his tongue against yours. He pulls you closer to you feeling your shape. You carefully spread your legs and straddle his lap. You both start to slowly grind against each other. He starts to grab your outer thigh and ass with his left hand, fondling your tit with the right. His touch feels so good. You start to feel your entrance starting to soak as it rubs against his member, fully erect under his pants.

You blindly unclasp his heavy cloak, pulling it to the side, as it falls you caress his strong chest and neck. He started to wear shirts, finally, but you can’t wait to rip it off of him. Sinking your teeth into his muscly flesh. You let down your hair and part your lips from his, feeling a wild look in your eyes. You press your fingers into his chest, cueing him to lay back on the blanket. He leans halfway, resting on his elbows on the ground watching you intently as you kiss his neck slowly moving down his body. He jumps a little as you start to undo his belt buckles, his face red hot. “Rhemi— We’re—we’re outside...” He loudly whispers.

You stop, then look all around the very empty meadow and giggle flirtatiously. “Are you expecting anyone to show up in the middle of this enchanted forest, Muri~?”

“… Probably some… deer.. maybe....B—but still…” He flushes some more.

You stand up, eyes still locked onto him as you pull off your tight long pants and underwear, but keep your long shirt and belt on, covering all of your… assets..

“Well.. then I guess we’ll make some deer blush~.” Muriel gulps loudly as he watches you unthread your pants and underwear off of your hips slowly, trying to hide his obvious excitement in his face. You kick them off to the side then crouch down, crawling towards him on all fours back to his belt buckle. You notice the face he’s giving you. Even though you know you know he wouldn't object to you, he still looks a little unsure. “...Do you want me to stop?”

He huffs, gazing towards the willow tree, his chest is starting to get red, looking really torn. “You can tell me to stop! We don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable.” You rub his large quad muscle on his legs, comfortingly. You don’t want to do anything that he doesn’t want to do.

He takes in a large breath. “..That's….exactly the problem….” He mumbles, strain in his voice, looking absolutely adorable right now.

A mischievous grin washes over your face. You start to unloop his belt, he jumps again. You stare at him, thirsting for his taste, you bite your bottom lip. “Muriel...You don’t want me to stop. Do you~?”

He stiffens as you unbuckle his other buckles off around his waist, curling his lips into his mouth. He grumbles, still looking away, sounding almost painful, he slowly shakes his head, a little grin appears on his cute pink face. 

You pull them down enough for his large hard cock to be comfortably accessible, but can be quickly put back if needed. You wriggle in delight at the sight of his huge dick. Saliva pooling behind your teeth as you stroke it, then start to lick the top of the shaft enjoying his saltiness. He hisses quivers, moving his legs out of your way. “You’re… rather…convincing …Rhemi.” You giggle sweetly, as he struggles to speak as you start to lick and suck the tip, sharply moaning, _“Fuck”_ under his breath. Slowly starting to take his cock into your mouth, you’ve been trying to take a little more of him in, every time you go down on him. Still, being careful not to choke on it, fearing that he'll stop you. You can nearly get two thirds of him in, feeling a little successful. You feel your pulse in your clit, soaking your entrance as he squirms and moans. His hips start to naturally thrust into you.

He sits himself back up for a moment, “Rhemi…” you slurp the saliva and precum off his dick before you give him your full attention. “...can I… try something?” He sheepishly askes.

Your face feels hot as you lift yourself back up. _This is new… Muriel isn’t usually so bold. What does he want to try???_ You nod still giving him a wanting look. He looks just as crazed as you do, he pinches the middle buckle of your corset belt. _Is he going to undress me?_ _God, that would be so fucking hot if he did…_ He hesitates, “Could… could you take this off?” He looks a little nervous, so you take pity on him. _Oh well. One thing at a time I guess._ Quickly you undo it, placing it over your underwear and pants so they don't somehow run away.

Muriel scoops you back into his lap, facing him, one hand firmly holding your ass. He starts to kiss your lips very lovingly and you close your eyes again, kissing back. You feel his other hand travels up the front of your thigh, going under your long shirt, and glides his two fingers into your folds. Your eyes fly open, shoulders tense up, and a muffled squeak ejects from behind your teeth. A shiver rolls up your spine, you pull your lips away with a quick shocked gasp, covering your mouth with your hand, stifling a whimper, grasping his shirt with the other. Your eyes are wide looking down, gawking at his hand. _Oh my god. Where did this come from? Where did he learn that?? I’ve wanted to ask him, but I didn’t think he’d be comfortable with it!!!_

He jolts, and stops right away, looking mortified. “I’m—I’m sorry….Did-Did I hurt you? Shit!! —I—I should have asked! I just didn’t know...now how to….” His face flushed, looking like he feels terrible.

He tries to pull his hand away. “N-n-no..” You stop him, holding his forearm, shaking. Both of your faces feel very hot and have a hard time thinking. Your breathing starts to feel shaky too. “D...D-don’t stop….”

“...But...you're shaking!” He is trying to look into your eyes, but you avert yours, feeling a little embarrassed. Your lips quiver, your body still trembling. His fingers feel good, you don’t really want him to stop, it was just startling!

“I-I just wasn’t e-ex-expecting it!” You force yourself to stop from shivering and look into his eyes again, your thumb and pointer finger pressed against your top lip, apparently looking cute.

He stumbles on his words trying to explain himself, sounding almost panicked. “...You —you—you just… do stuff like this for me all the time…and-and—and…. I just wanted to make you feel….-you... make you—” You cut him off from his rant pressing your lips into his, he stiffens initially, then melts and kisses you back.

When you both break away, the tips of your noses touch. You push his wrist back closer to you. “...I...I want you to…” You can feel the heat from his chest.

He takes a deep breath, “...You sure?”

You nod, whispering,“Lets try it.” lips just inches from each other. He trembles a little then starts to move his fingers back into your wet folds. You shiver as he blindly looks for your clit, just being there is enough sensation to make you amazing right now. He finds your entrance instead and you moan and shiver even more. His eyes shoot back up to yours, as you bite the knuckle of your pointer finger. You give him a firm nod, eager from him to continue. His large middle finger enters you without resistance. It feels so fucking good. He adds another finger gently and you feel a slight stretch, but it isn’t painful at all. He slowly starts to push and pull them in and out of you, you squirm and start to thrust your hips a little matching his rhythm, enjoying his fingers. 

Muriel starts to relax once he realizes that you're not hurting at all, in fact, your fucking loving it. His fingers start to curl and wiggle them upwards, pressing gently but firmly into your g-spot. You mutter a sharp lued yelp, burying your face into his collar bone, breathing shallowly. He pulls you closer, enjoying your moans, moving his fingers a little faster, your hand laces through his dark hair as you start to glide into your climax. His nose and lips pressing into your neck makes you wish he'd just bite into it a little. His breathing becomes more erratic, more excited. “M-Muriel~” you whisper, in his ear, he groans and trembles in pleasure, getting off on your reactions, suddenly flicking and moving them faster, fucking your pussy hard with his fingers. You lean into him, muffling your squeals into his neck, trying your best not to let the entire forest know that you're cumming— but you can’t stop your noises. It feels too good— you can feel legs start to feel weak, suddenly gasping loudly for air, you shudder, “M-Muriel—Mmmuriiel~!”, lifting yourself off of his hand, almost getting overstimulated as you cum hard. Your insides feel like they are singing. A sudden rush of your fluids leaves your entrance dripping. _His fingers almost feel as good as his dick!!!_

Muriel looks at you, surprised that you're still shivering. “...You ok?!”

“Mmm-hmm…” He feels your smile in his neck.

“...Did... did I... you know...?” He asks, trying to not sound completely embarrassed. Talking about sex is still incredibly difficult for him. You feel speechless, you smile and nod breathlessly, little happy noises escape your lips. Your hands hold his neck then start to kiss and nibble at it, he melts and leaning his neck over giving it to you.

You lift his shirt off of his back, skill kissing his neck, and you pull it over his shoulders. He lifts his arms to assist you, and cast it aside with your belt and underwear, once off. You both hungrily meet each others lips, and intensely kiss each other. His thumbs rub against your nipples making them perky and hard as you reach down, stroking his shaft, your bodies constantly wiggling. You come up for air, foreheads pressed together breathing in each other air. You push your fingers back into his sternum, uttering, “Lay back down~.” He does it obediently, you always feel even more sensitive after you cum, making you want to feel his rushing inside of you.

You mount him and he instinctively grabs your waist; you reach behind, grab his shaft and stroke it a few times before sitting on it. He slips into you rather easily, but you can never take him in all at once, you both groan once the tip penetrates you. Slowly starting to inch him in more every thrust. It doesn’t hurt like it did the first time, but there is still discomfort from his large member stretching your tight walls. Once it becomes comfortable and you relax as most of his dick in you. Pressure from his large member makes it so you can’t sit up all the way; Your hands firmly on his tight chest, lifting your hips up and down onto him, slowly riding your sweet hermit. Muriel’s eyes are nearly close, but he won’t dare take them off of you. One of his hands touches your neck lightly and moves up to cup your face. His thumb on your chin, you lean into his touch and lick it. He lifts his head up and you meet his lips. He moves his hands back to your hips and you both start to move a little faster, a little harder. You both gasping for air, his head drops to the blanket, the glow of the fireflies reflecting off his eyes making him look irresistible. You lean down kissing his chin and sink your teeth lightly into his neck. “Shit…” he mutters under his breath, feeling his cock get even harder as it swells. He still has a difficult time figuring out how to hold you when he’s getting close, but this time he is drunk on desire, fingering you seemed to have brought him some new welcomed confidence. He wraps his arms tightly around the small of your back, arching it. He pushes his feet into the ground and lifts his pelvis up and starts to thrust his dick deeper into you. _I like this side of Muriel..._ You yelp a blissful sound, and your hands brace around the back of his head and neck, pressing your foreheads together, your belly feels tingly again as he gets closer and closer. His eyes look wild, he makes that look every time he’s about to cum. He normally doesn’t finish in you, but you want to feel his hot seed rushing into you. “Rhemi, I’m gonna--”

Your hand grasps on his arm still tightly wrapped around you and you whisper faintly, right before hitting your climax, “--Don’t….don’t pull out.” His eyes fly open, your words send him over the edge, and he pushes your hips hard onto his member, and you feel his cum rushing inside you. 

##  _**To be continued~** _


	3. Potion& Meadows~ Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What else is there to do in a pandemic? Other than…. to get thirsty??  
> …Jk (but really), mostly fluff below. It’s sweet fluff though….=) ENJOY!

**_Potions & Meadows (final) Part 3~ _ **

You collapse into Muriel’s chests, he holds you tightly to him as you both catch your breath, his fluids still filling your insides, making it overflow and slow spill out. He pulls back your long hair and slowly kisses your temple, your cheek, your neck, then pulls your shirt off your shoulder pressing his lips firmly into your clavicle and deltoid. It makes you moan uncontrollably, still holding tightly to him. The gentleness of his lips can be so orgasmic as it touches your skin. You eagerly meet his lips and kiss him passionately, and he kisses you back, matching the intensity. When you part to breath, your foreheads press together. After the initial bliss wares off, he then realizes what he did. He’s accidentally came in you your first time, but he’s never deliberately done it in the heat of the moment before. You notice his wary face, and you push his hair off of his sweaty brow. “It’s ok. I have an elixir I take everyday…So we don’t have any… accidents…” You giggle a little. 

“Oh…” He turns his face away to look at the tall grass, almost looking disappointed. “Oh…yeah…Well… thats… thats good…”

You cup his face, turning it back to you. “We can have more fun that way~” He smiles bashfully, looking like he may be starting to like the idea. You lean forward and arch your hips, pulling his now soft member out of you, then roll off of him resting your head on his bare chest. He pulls his member back into his pants and buckles them. He then wraps his arm that’s close to you around your waist. His large muscle supporting your neck while you both lay there in the grass on the blanket watching the fireflies are still dancing all around the night sky above.

You keep thinking about earlier. _Where did that exactly come from?_ Muriel isn’t the type to just up and ask for things for himself. You both have that unfortunately in common. You both want other people to be happy before you think about yourselves, you don’t like to ask for things. But he really wanted to try something new with you, something to please you; the idea of him doing that just makes you feel even more love and desire for him. But, you have to know…..

“…Where…Where did you learn to do that?” you finally ask.

“Hmm??” He looks a little confused. You blush a little, bite your lower lip, and wiggle your first two fingers. He’s face flashes with a few different shades of red, suddenly remembering what you’re referring to. “..OH! …Ohhhh …. _uhhh_ … N-nowhere…” He looks away trying to not answer.

You light smack his chest with your hand. “Muriel!..” You pout your lip a little, you know he didn’t just pull that out of thin air. _Or…or did he??_

“Hmmf,” He grumbles, his eyes still looking away from you. “…I-Ilyan….gave me a book…. from overseas ….” His face and chest heats up as he reluctantly confesses.

“When? I didn’t see him give you anything when they were giving out their gifts.”

“….Found it in the satchel from Asra…”

 _Aha! That makes way more sense now._ “Ok… he gave you a book…and it’s about… what _exactly_?” You feel a little excited about this. 

“..It’s… it’s about….stuff….like this…” he clears his throat. “—was about to burn to last night.”

“….Oh?” You lift your chin up and glance at him, he’s still looking away ashamed. You giggle and place your two first fingers on his sternum, walking them up all the way to his nose and boop it playfully. “You clearly didn’t though… did you~?

He huffs, with a little snort, “No..…” shame washes over his face. “.. I read…that…and…. and…. andIwascuriousifyouwouldlikeit.” he mumbles almost undesiverably. You take pity on him, laugh a little, and snuggle up to him.

“Well, I did like it…a lot~” You kiss his chest and he holds you tighter. He can’t help but smile, that was a really brave for Muriel. You feel rather proud of his boldness. _Now, if I can get him to be on top… OOOO! …Or bend me over a counter…_ You shake your perverted thoughts away and reach out your hand for his. He meets it, interlacing your digits together, resting it on his abdomen. You suddenly giggle, ”…Remind me to thank Ilyan next time we see him!” He quickly darts his eyes to yours, thinking you’re actually serious. You try to stifle your outbursting chuckle. But his face is just too much! _He’s so cute._ You force yourself to stop from completely laughing, kissing his forehead. “I’m kidding, my love!” He grins a little, looking relieved and feeling a little silly.

Muriel and you stay curled up together, both peering up at the stars, the moon, and the fireflies. You still don’t have your pants or shoes on, and the brisk air starts to make your bones shake. You shiver slightly, Muriel notices right away and swiftly grabs his warm heavy cloak from his side, drapes it over and uses it like a blanket, covering you both. “Thank you, love~” He pulls up your hand that he’s holding and kissing it sweetly.

All thoughts and feelings about the dragon’s breath potion finally stop flooding in. Being here in the meadow, in Muriel’s warm chest, you feel so comfortable, feel so relaxed, so incredibly sleepy. _Why does sex make me want to sleep? I feel like I always end up dozing off…._ He notices that you’re flighting to keep your eyes from closing shut. He strokes your cheek and whispers, “Hey, Rhemi ….Don’t fall asleep, we have to get back to home…”

“I’m…. I’m….n- …not…” You faintly whimper.“I’m… Imma… aw-..awake …Just ….resting…”

He chuckles through his nose, still softly whispering, “…You sure about that?”

You yawn, “….yep… Wouldn’t….dream… of…” you trail off into silence.

Before sleep takes you away and drifts into the realm of dreams, you hear Muriel’s voice. “..Rhemi….Rhemi?… You asleep?”

You try to answer, but all you have can manage is a low sleepy, “Hmmm,”.

“…Goodnight, Rhemi…” You feel him turn, both arms wrap around you tucking you closer into his chest. “….. I love you…Dream well…”

_—-Dreams can be so strange… You’ve had one like this before… When was it?…Was it… after you came back to life?—————————————_

Next thing you see is the open blue sky, clouds burst as they touch your fiery wings. You’re flying high above beautiful rolling hills. Flames engulf your body entirely. You fly down closer to the earth, you’re alone, not a soul to be seen for miles. But then… A bear, a very large one… it runs alongside you on all fours, fully sprinting to keep up with you. His eyes are intoxicatingly mossy-emerald green… they look… familiar. You slow down and fly in a circle around the bear and he watches intently. You feel so unafraid despite their and massive size and threatening appearance. You perch yourself gracefully on a nearby boulder, tilting your head as the beast carefully approaches you. He doesn’t fear your flames, most creatures are scared of getting too close… afraid of being burned. It’s massive muzzle gently sniffs your burning hot beak. You feel so comfortable, so safe with this huge creature. The flames around you start to reseed, revealing to him your dull brown and muted-red feathers, you shamefully glance down. Without your flames, you feel like nothing. Underneath you look so dull, so plain, so ordinary. Nothing is special about you. _Why did I rise from the ashes when others didn’t?_ You are just another unimpressive bird.

The bear affectionately starts to rub his brow against your beak and long feathery neck, grunting lowly. His touch feels good. He…he loves way you look, he loves the way that you are, with or without your flames. You rest your beak on top of his large snout, staring into his wonderfully bright eyes. The bear’s body is so scarred, covered with past marks from hunters… he’s been hurt so many times. But he’s so loving, so warm, so gentle…so kind. _The hunters don’t deserve you…._ You lift your beak off of the great animal’s face, flapping your wings proudly as your body bursts into flames. The bear steps back and watches in astonishment as the fire surrounds you. You take off to the air and he follows you. You both chase each other over the hills, you feel so happy. You make sure you don’t fly too quickly so you don’t lose him. 

You start to feel a large hand gently shake your shoulder. You glance back to the ground, the bear is gone, but you still somehow feel his presents. Another quake of movement suddenly makes you feel a pulling sensation. You slowly descend from the open skies, being pulled back down, set back to the ground where your real body is lying, your flames, feathers and beak disappear. _“Rhemi…”_

_—-Please, don’t wake me… it’s such a lovely dream… I…I want to chase the bear…Bear!…. Come back….. Bear…..—————–_

You’re still fast asleep when Muriel awakens. “Rhemi….come on. Wake up.” You feel him trying to shake you gently. You’re on your side, facing away the opposite side curled up in a little ball, sleepily moaning back at him. “Rhemi…” He shakes you just the slightest bit harder. He chuckles, then leans down and tries to kiss your neck. Inhaling, you yawn, turn onto your back, your hands fly blindly, accidentally slapping poor Muriel’s nose. _SMACK_ , “Ooof—Ooww…”

Your eyes half open after your hand makes contact, quickly scrambling to Muriel’s face, he’s rubbing his nose a little, smirking, his body shaking from trying to quietly hold back his laughter. _Oh shit!! What the hell? You’re so clumsy, Rhemi!_

“Oh nooooo!!! Muuuuuuri, my love! Sorry…” You quickly grab his face with both hands, squishing it a little, and start to kiss his nose repeatedly. You join his laughter sleepily, he holds the small of your back. You both lay there for a moment pressing groggy kisses into each other’s lips, then your foreheads meet. “Muriel? Where are we?” Your tired eyes finally start to wake up looking all around.

“Outside… in the meadow. ” It’s dawn, and you’re both still in the tall grass laying on the blanket. The fireflies and other night creatures have disappeared, the sun is trying to peek through the surrounding trees and the morning fog and dew moisten the air.

Your eyes fly open, and you sit up sharply, looking all around. “Oh…” Inanna cuddling at your feet. You whip your head back to Muriel, “…why didn’t you wake me?”

He sits up beside you, snorting, “I-I tried!… I told you not to! But you were fast asleep.”

You just stare at him with your bottom lip sticking out. “Muriel, my dear, I need more than a gentle nudge to wake me up.” You lift your arms above your head and start to stretch out your tight body.

Pink takes over his cheeks, and he looks down to Inanna, who is yawning and stretching as well. “…I…I didn’t want to disturb you… you finally got comfortable… and….. Youweretoocutetowakeup _._ ” He mutters, the pink on his cheeks start to darken into crimson red.

You giggle, try to get the knots out of your now tangled hair with your fingers, laughing at your cute hermit. “God, I love you.” You sit on your knees and kiss his cheek, then hand him his shirt. “Come on, I wouldn’t mind going back to sleep in an actual bed now.”

“…Ok, sleeping beauty.” He tenses for a moment, scrunches his face like he tasted something foul. “That… that was…awful.” You can’t help but laugh.

You get yourself dressed as Muriel gathers up the blanket, and hastily gathers something you can’t see up and into a pocket around his belt. As you get your shoes back on, you think about your dream. Details are fading away the longer you’re awake, you wished you hadn’t thrown your notebook at Julian yesterday. Sometimes you like to write down your dreams and you really wanted to remember this one.

All three of you finally make your way back to the hut. Muriel has some other chores to do this morning. You still felt tired, after ten minutes of Muriel convincing you that it was alright, you got some more rest. You went back to sleep for a few more hours, Inanna stayed with you as Muriel worked. You hoped that you’d dream about the bear again, unfortunately you don’t dream at all this time.

Once you feel like you’re caught up on enough sleep, it’s nearly afternoon, and your body feels a little sore from the shenanigans in the meadow. _Worth it._ Muriel’s outside chopping firewood, his shirt and cloak off. He wipes the sweat from his neck and seems to be happy to see you finally awake. You stagger over to him, your eyes half open, looking a little groggy. Your hair is a bit of a mess as you grab his waist to hug him. You then yawn, smack your tired lips, and smile. “Good morning, my love~”

He looks up at the sky for the sun. “…Afternoon now.” He leans down, softy and quickly kisses your lips and you smile stupidly. He gently nuggles you out of the way. “..I’m almost done.”

Inanna comes up and sits herself right beside you leaning on your leg, softly _“Awooing”_ for pets. “I don’t mind watching.” You say flirtatious, but still very groggily as you sit down on an old stump giving him enough space and start to scratch Inanna’s head.

Muriel smiles a little and you see his skin turning red as you watch him. You watch him swing his ax down onto the wood effortlessly chopping it in half. He jolts a little, suddenly remembering something. “Oh! Asra came by when you were asleep.”

You look up from Inanna, fluttering your eyes. “Oh, really?” You nearly forgot all about what happened yesterday. Last night was so amazing, it drowned out all the despair of your disaster potion. You feel a lot better today, but it still hurts a bit. The thought of going back to the shop is almost painful.

Muriel continues, but he focuses his eyes on the wood. “He says he wants us to go back to shop later today. He…uhhh…He has something he wanted to show you.”

You’re not really happy about going to the shop, but with Muriel by your side, it’s less unbearable. You both take a quick bath and get changed into fresh clothes. Muriel still wears his cloak however. As you get closer to the shop you start to feel apprehensive. Muriel glances down, brushing your cheek. “…You ok?”

You inhale and put on a brave face, “Yes….I’ve got to come back to the shop sooner or later, right?” He snorts as you puff out your chest like you’d do when your were training with Morga in the forest. You clap your hands together, feeling pumped up. “Let’s do this thing!!” You take his hand and start to walk in front of him pulling him along, you can feel him shaking his head, as he laughs at you.

Suddenly you stop short, Muriel slightly bumps into you, his hand flying up hovering over you to ensure that you’re alright. But you don’t even react, you stick your nose in the air, sniff, like a bloodhound. You know that smell. It’s an incredibly sweet, spicy, savory smell! You whip your head up to Muriel, slight drool on your face, he darts his eye side-to-side. “….Curry….” you horse whisper, stars in your eyes.

“Huh?” 

Your fist fly up by your face and they shake in delight, “Asra….his…… Cuuuuuuurrry!!!!”

Muriel jumps, “You– you can smell that from here?!” Baffled at your sense of smell.

“Did you know??” You grab his cloak excitedly and lightly tug on it.

“…K-..Kinda…” He shrugs, grinning. “…It’s supposed to be a surprise…”

You loop your arm through his, and you start to walk faster towards the shop, feeling ecstatic for once, “Well then, let’s go!!!” He chuckles under his breath.

You throw open the door of the shop so excited! But the sight of Asra and Julian stop you dead in your tracks. They’re waiting in the front of the shop, Asra quickly straightens up from lazily leaning on the counter.

Julian has a little kazoo, Asra throws a little confetti. You flutter your eyes in shock as it the small pieces of tissue paper cover.

“Hooray for Rhemi!!! The best apprentice ever!!!” Asra cheers.

Muriel’s face is soft and warm, as he makes himself into the shop holding your shoulder, squeezing your side body to his. You look up to him, blushes and rubs the back of his head, looking up at the ceiling.

Your lips are neutral, you feel very confused. “…What… What’s all this??” You look all around, Asra made your favorite meal, red seafood curry, he learned how to make it from one of his travels. It was the first meal you remember eating when you came back to life three years ago. When you had bad days, especially when you first came back, he’d make it and it would always make you feel so much better. Now he only makes it for special occasions. He hasn’t made it in so long… Julian’s got Portia bake her famous bread pudding, it’s on the glass counter on a pretty plate, with a little pink bow on it. You feel so confused, you scratch your head. “It’s not my birthday….is it??” _You look at the floor scratching your cheek. My birthday isn’t until beginning of Autumn.. And it’s just became Summer. Right???_ “I don’t get it… did I forget something? What are we celebrating for?”

Asra stands in front of you grabbing your wrist off of your face, breaking your constitution. He chuckles as you tilt your head still looking confused, “Because of you, Rhemi!”

Faust slither out of his shirt, she travels down his arm and drapes around your neck. _“Happy, Rhemi!”_ She tickles your neck with her fork tongue. You finally smile and lean into her cute head, accepting her little snake affection. But still shoot Asra a confused look on your face, still not understanding what‘s going on. Julian walks over and wraps one of his arms around Asra’s shoulders; they both smile at each other then to you. 

You look up to Muriel after he squeezes himself through the small door frame. You stick out your bottom lip with an eyebrow raised, trying to search for answers. “I’m…still lost here…” You reach out blindly and Faust slithers back to Asra’s, Julian slightly shivers, but doesn’t pull away from him.

Muriel opens his mouth to talk, but Asra speaks before him. “You’ve been working so hard lately… You do so much and ask for so little… You barely complain, even when things get bad.” Asra’s cheeks flush a little, then his smile falls, looking a little sad. “…You were just so upset at yourself yesterday…it broke my—” He paused, then holds Julian’s arm that’s wrapped around him, leans over grabbing Muriel’s arm tugging him closer, he stiffens, but doesn’t resist him, red faced and trying to hide a grin as he glances at your direction. “It broke all of our hearts to see you like that.” Julian and Muriel nod sharply in agreement.

You look at them all silently, your mouth parted a little, but you’re completely speechless. Your heart starts to flutter a little, then sinks to your stomach, guilt overwhelms you. “But I wasn’t successful… I nearly blew up the entire shop! I put you, and Muriel- and-and Faust in danger…. We don’t need to celebrate that!”

“We are not celebrating that, silly, we’re celebrating how great _you_ are…” Julian smiles, flipping up his eye patch revealing his red eye with his free hand, and gives you a friendly wink, then hastily flips it down.

_But… I’m not all that great…_

Asra leans his head on Julain’s upper chest making him shudder, as Asra says, “It was all Ilyan’s idea!”

Julian then bashfully smiles and flutters his eye, then clears his throat, getting a hold of himself. “Errr, Asra was the one who really gave me the idea in the first place! We all just wanted to make you feel better about the other day.” Julian hands you a loaf of pumpkin bread from behind his back, it’s from your favorite bakery, wrapped tightly in white tissue paper.

Your eyes gleam a little, you step back, not taking the bread from him. “B-b-b-but… Ilyan… why???” Julian’s eyebrows lift up and softly smiles. He hands the bread to Asra, unraveling himself from his side and takes a step forward as you continue flounder for words. “…I was so—I was such a— I-I threw my notebook at you!… And I tried to throw my shoe at your face! AND, I threatened you! _Repeatedly_!”

He raises your palm up with his right hand out in front of you, and pats the top of it with his left. Muriel doesn’t say anything, but he does tense his shoulders, eyeing his left hand that is patting yours, then glares at him. “If I know anything, dear, Rhemi, I know how it is to fail…” He eye looks into yours and he frowns, empathy in his face. “…I failed for a long time too….during the plague, I failed so many times. Sometimes I felt like throwing things at people too…. I’ve been in more _dangerous_ situations anyway!” He finally catches Muriel’s irritated stare, Julian turns his head up to him and smiles nervously hastily letting go of your palm then throws his hands up defensively. “D-d-don’t worry, er, big guy! I’m taken!” He gestures to a snickering Asra, who’s adoring Muriel’s protectiveness over you.”—S-S-S-She’s all yours—”

You try to hide yourself while no one is looking, you sniffle and cover your face with your forearm. But they all quickly dart to look at your face looking concerned. _Fuck, they heard me._

“..Rhemi?” Muriel mutters concerningly, and you take hold of his hand, trembling trying to keep everything from coming out. “…What’s wrong??”

Julain taps on your forearm, you lower it relieving your streaming tears. He panics slightly, “Oh no!…you’re crying! _She’s crying_!! Er, I shouldn’t have mentioned the plague— I nearly forgot— that you…er… that you—OOOF!!!” You suddenly hug Julian tightly, forcing the air out of his lungs. Your cheek squished up against his chest. Julian tenses up, he stares down at you, his face incredibly red, unsure what to do or say. So he just stands there, hands hovering over your shoulders. “Uhhhhhh….Well, uh, Rhemi, aren’t we… _errr_ …a cuddly little one.” He pats your head lightly, keeping his eyes peeled on Muriel, terrified.

“I… I don’t deserve this…” Julian lightly brushes up against your shoulders, your voice muffled by his shirt. “I… I was.. A complete ass…I-I-I tried to…r-r-r-ip your face off!!” You sniffle again as you reposition your face so you can breath.

Asra brushes his knuckles against your scapula, and you turn your face up at him. Your bottom lip starts to quiver, and your watery eyes look up at his. “ _Awwww,_ Rhemi!” He opens his arms out. “..Don’t cry—Ooof!” You release Julian and quickly hug Asra the same way, but he welcomes your embrace, wrapping his arms around your shoulders, his cheek rests on your head as you cry all over his scarf. You can almost feel his heart melt. Then giggle as he speaks, “Dawwww… My sweet, sweet, Rhemi! You’ve tried to rip Julian’s face off plenty of times!~” You hiccup a little, and your shoulder shakes as both of you laugh. You let him go, but hold his bicep. You wipe your face with the back of your other hand, the tears just won’t stop. You are not the kind of gal who looks sweet when they cry. You’re an ugly crier and you’re just a blubbery mess.

“I look terrible now, don’t I?” You muster up a laugh averting your eyes from everyone. You hate crying in front of people like this.

Muriel moves your loose bangs out of your face, tucking it behind your ear, then placing something on your head. Your fingers lightly touch whatever it is. You feel the petals and stems, it’s a flower crown. You give him a confused look, and he looks at the floor, cheeks pink, with a small grin. “…Made it in the meadow, when you were asleep.”

You inhale snottily, then cover your face with hands again, just sobbing. “I don’t deserve any of you!! You all are so amazing!… All I did was fail badly at this potion making and—and you all did… this for me!!”

Muriel grabs your shoulders tenderly, turning your body in front of him. “That’s the point!… you just failed at _one_ thing…” You lean into his chest and he runs his fingers through your hair, forgetting about everything and everyone. “But… you forget that you’re great at many things…. You–you’re truly amazing, Rhemi!” You drop one hand, looking back up to him, your heart suddenly feels so full. Did he just say that… in confidence? Muriel’s eyes are so warm and loving for a moment, then he shivers, suddenly remembering that you both are not alone. His hands fly away from you, covering one over his mouth looking so embarrassed, glancing at Asra and Julian’s direction. They both look like they are about to cry themselves. Julian hands over his heart, looking so touched at Muriel’s words. Asra’s eyes are sparkling, his hands clasped together, smiling ear to ear, trying to muffle a little excited squeal as he looks up at him. “…S-S-Shut up, Asra….” He grumbles through his fingers frustratedly.

You start to sob again, rubbing your eyes. “Muriel, I-I love you… I—I love all of you!! I have the greatest friends… and boyfriend… in the world!”

Asra wraps his arms around your right side of your body, and starts to sway side to side a little. “Rheeeeeeemmmi! No more tears, ok! The curry won’t taste as good!” All three of them laugh, and Julian wraps his arms around your left side, his long arms holding Asra as well. The tears finally stop and you giggle a little with them. You have the best of friends anyone could ask for. You have the best lover anyone could ask for. You feel so overjoyed at this moment.

You all glance up to Muriel, all smiling stupidly, he starts a bit. You all stagger forward inching towards him, still hugging. Muriel grimaces as Asra wriggles his eyebrows, “Muuuurriel!~”

He groans, shaking his hands and head, “Nope!… No way… Done enough embarrassing shit for one day.”

“Get in here, Muriel!” Asra laughs, hugging tighter. 

Julian laughs and chimes in, “Yeah! Come on, big guy!”

“ _Definitely_ , no!” He scowls.

Faust pops her little snake head out, “ _Tall friend, Squeeze!_!!”

He grumbles, now considering it. Your puffy eyes meet his amazing emerald green ones, and you reach out with both hands, wiggling your fingers. You see him wearing down as you soften your smile at him. “Yeah, ‘Tall friend!’… Squeeze!!!” 

He huffs, and his face and ears turn red again, “…F—fine…AHH!–”, gritting through his teeth. Asra and you grab his wrists and pull him into the group hug. Despite trying to look like he hates this, you can tell he kinda enjoys it. You snuggle up to his chest, loving this moment, feeling it heat up. After about twenty seconds, Muriel breaks the moment. “Ok… Can we stop now? It’s fucking wierd….I feel stupid.”

Asra, Julian, and you laugh uncontrollably as Muriel continues to moan uncomfortably. 

You wiggle happily, “Nope! Gotta stay here forever!!” He lets out a loud grumbly sigh.

Eventually you had to let go of everyone. The four of you all sit around the back table, now draped with a new purplish tablecloth, drink some green tea and eat curry. You sit right next to Muriel, he holds your hand under the table tightly.

Filled with such excitement, you take a bigger bite than you should have and make a bit of a mess of yourself, you drop your spoon into the plate and splatter red curry all over yourself. The three of them just look at you, feeling stupid as the food falls out of your mouth, back down to your plate, laughing at you a little, you giggle with them. Muriel hands you your napkin, laughing, “Don’t choke on it, Rhemi!”

You quickly wipe your mouth and your shirt off, a little embarrassed. “Don’t worry….” Your chin rests on your knuckles and looks up at Muriel with a little bit of blush. “….You know I’ve taken in more than _that_ –”

 _“PFFFFFTT!!!”_ Muriel whips his head away from the table and sputters on his tea, darting from you to Julian and Asra sitting across from you two, all visible flesh blood red. Asra and Julain’s utensils drop on the ceramic plates with a hard clank, their mouths gaped open, dismay washes over their face, their cheeks slowly growing flushed. Your eyes widen and you clasp your hands over your mouth quickly. Muriel covers his eyes with his hands completely embarrassed, burying himself in his cloak, trying to hide his face, you think you see his lips curled up in a smile. “Did… did I just say that out loud??” You start to sink a little into your chair.

Silence. Then Asra tries to stifle his snickering with his hand, but he can’t stop it as it slowly builds into a full blown laughter. Your face suddenly feels incredibly hot.

Julian starts to slowly chuckle with Asra, staring hard at you. “Hot damn, girl!~” He says, looking at you with admiration and smiles deviously. Asra then proceeds to lose his shit at the table. Muriel and you sink even lower in your chairs.

Muriel is so comically red, he utters under his cloak, “…You all fucking suck!” He takes his hand away, popping his head out of his cloak, his eyes get even larger. “—W-W-Wait! I didn’t—!” He shakes his hands panicking.

Asra starts to slightly hyperventilate, holding his abdomen hysterically laughing. Julian somehow keeps a straight face and looks at Muriel mischievously, wriggling an eyebrow, “Why, yes. Yes we do~”.

 _“UUUGH!”_ Muriel’s face twists in disgust and Julian sputters, laughing hard at his reaction, killing his calm composure. Muriel grumbles loudly, scratching his head. “Just…..Fuck me….—Wait—NO! NOT LIKE THAT!!!!”

Asra leans his upper body over the table, moving his food out of the way. He looks straight at you, points his figure with tears in his eyes, breathily muttering, “She sounds ….like …she’s already….has … that ….taking care of… Muriel! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!” He pounds the table with his fist, continuing to just lose his shit.

You sink lower in your chair nearly falling out of it, feeling feverishly hot, wanting to just disappear. 

“I’m leaving! You’re all goddamn disgusting!!” Muriel sneers, but doesn’t move or get up.

##  **_The end~_ **

**_Thanks again for reading my crazy long hot trash! =)_ **

**_I hope everyone enjoyed it! Feel free to share with your friends if you’d like._ **


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